NTT, a Japanese company, successfully triggered and directed a lightning strike for the first time in the world using a specially protected drone. Tests were carried out in winter in the mountains of Shimane Prefecture: the drone equipped with a metal tether was lifted to 300 meters, and when the electrical field intensified, the operator closed the circuit. A lightning bolt then struck directly the drone, which remained unharmed because of a metal protective cage.
The design is able to withstand a discharge five times stronger than an ordinary thunderstorm lightning strike. Unlike stationary lightning rods, drones are mobile, respond in real time, and provide point-by-point protection for critical infrastructure—especially in places where installing conventional lightning rods is not possible. The technology can help reduce lightning-related damage, which in Japan reaches $1.3 billion per year.
This is a real step toward managing natural forces rather than simply hiding from them.
Source: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
